New Delhi: Mahendra Singh Dhoni could now face trouble in an income-tax investigation. The Ranchi unit of the income-tax department is looking into tax implications of four post-dated cheques worth Rs 75 cr issued by real estate entity Amrapali Group’s chairman Anil Sharma to Dhoni.
Issued in 2012, the cheques were to be encashed in 2014. Dhoni is the brand ambassador of Amrapali while his wife Sakshi holds a 25% stake in Amrapali Mahi Developers, a joint venture between the firm and the Indian captain.
Sources in Amrapali said the income tax department had asked for details of the company after media reports as well as a raid by it in August 2013 on Amrapali Group offices in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Company officials who did not want to be identified admitted they had been called for questioning and that the investigation had been routed to the Ranchi unit. Dhoni is likely to be contacted soon about the cheques.
Dhoni and the Amrapali Group give different explanation for the cheques. Dhoni’s spokesperson said the cheques were “a security” on the investment made by him in Amrapali Mahi Developers.
The Amrapali Group, however, said the money was given as an “assurance and commitment” for a cricket academy in Ranchi to be built by Amrapali Mahi Developers, and that the captain had since returned the cheques.
Â